Council of People's Commissars

The Council of People's Commissars was the governing body of the Russian SFSR and the Soviet Union from 1917 to 1945, replacing the Military Revolutionary Committee and preceding the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union. The General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the de facto leader of the USSR, while his ministers were members of the council; for instance, there was a People's Commissar for Defense, who would lead the army.